Citizen Panel Good Idea, but Use Caution

But the focus isn't on serving their constituents. It's on drawing their districts along party lines.

This could be the case if the N.C. Senate and House committees continue to control the redistricting process.

Bills were introduced in the General Assembly last week to keep that from happening by instituting an independent redistricting commission.

It's a much-needed idea in theory. This state is notorious for legislators' gerrymandering of the 1990 districts.

But it might just be exchanging one political process for another.

UNC political science professor Thad Beyle said because the commission would be able to suggest plans but not impose them, redistricting would still be subject to politicization upon General Assembly approval.

And legislators wouldn't necessarily stay out of the process, Beyle said.

"Those who are most interested will be watching very closely and trying to undo things they don't like and do things they do like," he said.

To prevent the commission from becoming a highly partisan committee of each party's top dogs, the chief justice, speaker of the House and president pro tem of the Senate can only nominate one member of their own party. But Horton said there could still be party imbalances because nominators wouldn't pick the strongest members of the other party.

To ensure that the entire commission is politically impartial, nominators cannot suggest leaders of their own party, either. The nominees are prohibited from running for office four years before or after serving on the board.

Horton said the commission could consider census numbers, compact and contiguous districts and county lines while redistricting. They would not be allowed to consider race, sex or the area's previous voting history.

While most criteria would be objective and easily measurable, Horton said it also would be necessary to construct districts on the basis of community interests. "You don't want to put a small farming community with yuppies and business people," he said. "They would be swamped. At that point it becomes an art form."

But allowing the commission to introduce that level of discretion into the redistricting process opens up the process to other concerns disguised as community interests.

What's more, an independent redistricting committee doesn't guarantee that the plan won't be taken to court.

Tim Storey, redistricting coordinator for the National Conference of State Legislatures, said there is no way for a state to be immune from having a lawsuit filed. "It depends on who gets disadvantaged through the redistricting system," Storey said. "If you wind up worse off, you're going to say this is a terrible system."

So although the plan for an independent redistricting commission has potential, it warrants a trial run. Two bills are pending in the legislature, one a constitutional amendment that would take effect after the 2010 census and one a statutory change to handle this year's redistricting while the amendment passes.

There's no hurry to adopt the constitutional amendment, and it might not be approved if advocates push it now. Legislators should go ahead and pass the statutory change to use an independent commission this year but reserve judgment on the amendment.

If it works, North Carolinians will be able to rally behind the amendment and make it politically difficult for legislators to refuse. If the plan has flaws, legislators will know how to improve the commission before making it a permanent constitutional amendment.

An independent redistricting commission is a definite step up from the political dealings that currently allow politicians to pick their voters instead of the other way around.

It's an idea with great potential. Legislators just need to take careful steps to do it right.

Columnist Anne Fawcett can be reached at fawcetta@hotmail.com.